Display stand

ABSTRACT

A display is provided which may be folded into a generally flat form and which will automatically fold into erected form when means holding the display folded is released. The display includes a display body, a standard, and a display card. The display body is expandable and contractable. The standard is secured to extend upwardly from the display body, and is channelshaped when erected. The display card is secured to the upper end of the standard. The standard is vertically elongated and is creased to provide an intermediate panel and two side panels. The standard is transversely foldable to enclose the display body in collapsed form. Resilient means are provided for expanding the display body and for folding the side pannels in right angular relation to said intermediate panel when means holding the display collapsed and folded is released.

Robinson l 1March 20, 1973 [54] DISPLAY STAND [75] Inventor: William J.Robinson, Saint Paul,

Minn.

[73] Assignee: Reynolds Guyer Agency of Design,

Ramsey County, Minn.

[22] Filed: Jan. 18, 1971 211 Appl. No.: 143,590

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 761,934,Sept. 24, 1968,

UNITED STATES PATENTS Thomas ..248/l74 \Vojclechowski ..248/l74 PrimaryExaminer-Edward C. Allen A!t0rney-R0bert M. Dunning 57 ABSTRACT Adisplay is provided which may be folded into a generally flat form andwhich will automatically fold into erected form when means holding thedisplay folded is released. The display includes a display body, astandard, and a display card. The display body is expandable andcontractable. The standard is secured to extend upwardly from thedisplay body, and is channel-shaped when erected. The display card issecured to the upper end of the standard. The standard is verticallyelongated and is creased to provide an intermediate panel and two sidepanels. The standard is transversely foldable toenclose the display bodyin collapsed form. Resilient means are provided for expanding thedisplay body and for folding the s ide pannels in right angular relationto said intermediate panel when means holding the display collapsed andfolded is released.

3 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATUlTEDmzmm sum 2 [IF 2 INVENTOR MAM/VIJRoBwso/v A'FTORNEY DISPLAY STAND This is a continuation of applicationSer. No. 761,934, filed Sept. 24, 1968, and now abandoned.

This invention relates to an improvement in display stands, and dealsparticularly with a display including a base portion and a display cardsupported by a vertical standard above the base portion, and which maybe set up almost automatically.

Displays have been produced which include a base portion upon which thegoods to be displayed may be stacked, the standard portion extendingupwardly from the base, and a display sign secured to the upper end ofthe standard. Displays of this type are usually erected by arepresentative of the firm producing the product being displayed. Forexample, the base portion usually comprises some sort of container whichmust be folded from its flat folded form to a rectangular erected form.Secondly, the standard must be secured in some manner to the baseportion to extend upwardly therefrom. Finally, the display card must besecured to the upper end of the standard so as to extend above the goodspiled upon the base portion of the display.

As will be evident, the cost of erecting displays of the type inquestion is very high, and the cost is not warranted unless theresulting sales are substantially increased. The sales representative ofthe producer of the items to be displayed must contact the properparties at the store, obtain permission to erect the display, must erectthe display, and must usually pile a quantity of product upon the baseportion thereof, and must then travel to the next prospect. If the priceof the items displayed is low, the cost of such operation cannot warrantthe cost of the display.

It is a well known fact that displays will not, for the most part, beerected by the personnel of a supermarket. Aside from the personnel atthe checkout counters, most of the persons working in a supermarket areeither hired to apply price marks on the goods and to stack the goodsupon shelves, or else to carry the merchandise sold to the cars of thepurchasers. This type of help might often have difficulty in followingdirections in setting up a display. Even though the directions arerelatively simple, it is necessary that the base portion of the displaybe set up in a particular manner, following directions furnished withthe display. It is also necessary to form the standard which normally issupplied in the flat condition and which must be folded intochannel-shaped form, and to attach the display is often a very simplematter for one familiar with the display, it is usually not a simplematter for a common laborer who is completely unfamiliar with thedisplay and who would often rather do routine tasks than to go to thebother of learning how to set up the display. For this reason, displayswhich are sent to the supermarket rather than delivered by a salesrepresen tative are often thrown away.

An object of the present invention resides in the provision of a displaywhich almost automatically sets itself up. The display includes a simplebase portion which may be set up by merely moving a pair of panels apartso as to swing a product supporting platform into place. A standard issecured to the rear of the base, and a display poster is secured to theupper end of the standard. The standard is usually provided in threehingedly connected portions which are normally flat. The sides of thechannel-shaped standard are connected by resilient bands which arenormally under tension when the display is folded in its flat condition.The arrangement is such that the display base, supporting standard andposter may be normally folded into a flat form, and held in this form bysuitable means such as by a strip of gummed tape. When the display is tobe used, the strip of tape holding the display in folded form is slit,and the display may be merely dropped upon the floor. The resilientmembers connecting opposite sides of the channel-shaped standards actsto unfold the standard and to fold the standard and to fold the standardinto channel-shaped form. Other resilient means expand the base intodisplay position, and it is only necessary to stand the display up andstack the product on the base. As this operation requires no more laborthan stacking similar products upon shelves, the display may well beused where a similar display which requires erection and assembly wouldnot be used.

A feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a displaywhich is actually entertaining to erect, and which therefor will be usedwhere displays which must be assembled would not. When the tape or othermeans holding the display in flat folded condition is parted, and thedisplay is released, such as by dropping the display on a floor ortable, the resilient bands unfold the display automatically. Thisoperation is somewhat spectacular to watch, and as a result, dis playsof the type in question are almost universally used once the display hasbeen seen. As a matter of fact, it has been found that there is atendency for the persons erecting the display to attempt to refold thedisplays into their original condition just so that the folding of thedisplay into open position may be observed once again.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision of adisplay which is not materially more expensive than the displayspreviously used. Previous displays include the same general type of baseportion, standard and poster. In the past, the standard was usuallyformed of corrugated paperboard with the flutes of the corrugated boardextending horizontally, and with ductile wires included in certain ofthe flutes of the corrugations so that the standard may be bent intochannel-shaped form, and held in this form by the wires. In the presentarrangement, resilient bands are substituted for the wires, the bandsconnecting opposite sides of the channel-shaped standard. Theseresilient bands are under tension when the standard is in flat foldedcondition, and are relaxed in tension when the standard is inchannel-shaped form. The end portions of the standard are connected tothe supporting base and the display poster, respectively. Thearrangement is such that when the resilient bands are released and theparts of the display are free to move, the resilience of the stretchedband will not only unfold the complete structure, but will also unfoldthe standard into channel-shaped form. By merely standing the displayupright and folding the display portion into expanded form, the displayis complete and in readiness to receive the product which is to bestacked thereupon.

These and other objects and novel features of the present invention willbe more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification andclaims.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the front side of the erected display,showing the general arrangement thereof.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the display illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view through the base portion of thestandard, the position of the section being indicated by the line 3-3 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view through the standard, the positionof the section being indicated at right angles to FIG. 3 and theposition of the section being indicated by the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the standard at the start of the openingoperation.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the display and an intermediate point ofthe setting up operation.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view of the blank from which the base portionof the display is formed.

The display is indicated in its entirety by the letter A. The displayincludes a base portion which is indicated in general by the numeral 10,a standard portion which is indicated in general by the numeral 1 l, anda display poster which is indicated in general by numeral 12. Thestandard 11 is secured to a vertical wall of the base 10, and thedisplay poster 12 is secured to the upper end of the standard 11 so asto be visible above a stack of product resting upon the base portion ofthe display.

As indicated in FIG. 7 of the drawings, the base portion 10 includes afront panel 13, a side wall panel 14, a rear wall panel 15, and a secondside wall panel 16. These panels are connected along parallel fold lines17, 19, and 20. A stitch flap or glue flap 21 is hinged to the frontwall 13 along a fold line 22 which is parallel to the previouslydescribed lines of fold. As will be evident from FIG. 7, the side walls14 and 16 are separately foldable along a center fold line, the centerfold line of the side wall 14 being indicated by the numeral 23, and thecenter fold line in the side wall 16 being indicated at 24. Roundednotches 25 and 26 are provided in the upper edges of the side walls 14and 16 to accommodate the center strut of the product supportingplatform, as will be described.

As is also indicated, the walls 13, 14, 15, and 16 may also be connectedalong their lower edges by a fold line 27 to bottom flange's 29, 30, 31,and 32. The flanges 30 and 32 which are connected to the side walls 14and 16 are normally transversely slit as indicated at 33 and 34 so thatthe flange portion on opposite sides of the center fold lines may foldindividually. The upper edges of the front wall 13 and rear wall areconnected along alined fold lines 35 to platform panels 36. Fold lines37, which are parallel to fold lines 35, connect to the platform panels36 to a central strut forming flange 39.

In forming the base portion of the device, the flap 21 is overlappedwith the marginal edge of the side wall 16 and secured in face contacttherewith to form a tubular structure. The side walls 14 and 16 arefolded inwardly between the front and rear walls 13 and 15 so that theportions of the side walls on opposite sides of the center fold line 23and 24 fold into face contact. The strut forming flanges 39 on the twoplatform forming panels 36 are folded into face contact and are adheredtogether to provide a central strut connecting the top panels.

The standard portion 11 of the device includes a fromt panel 40 which ishingedly connected along parallel fold lines 41 and 42 to side flanges43 and 44. One end of the center portion 40 of the standard is adheredin face contact with the rear panel 15 of the base portion 10 of thedisplay. The other end of the standard 11 is designed to support thedisplay porter 12, the front surface of the panel 40 being adhered'inface contact with the rear surface of the poster 12.

As will be noted in FIG. 2 of the drawings, transverse double scorelines 45 and 46 extend entirely across the standard portion 11 includingthe center panel 40 and the side panels 43 and 44. These score linesdivide the height of the display into three substantially equalsections, the upper section being adhered to the poster 12 and the lowersection being adhered to the base portion 10. Resilient elastic bands 47and 49 are secured to the sides 43 and 44 of the standard portion 11.The elastic band 47 is positioned slightly below the double fold lines45. The upper resilient band 49 is preferably located just below theupper double fold lines 46.

In the particular arrangement illustrated, the front and rear panels 13and 15 of the base portion 10 are substantially equal in width to thestandard 1 1 when the side panels 43 and 44 of the standard are foldedinto a common plane with the center portion 40 thereof. The poster 12 ispreferably of equal width to the base panels 13 and 15 so that theentire display may be of substantially equal width when in its foldedcondition. As is indicated in FIG. 3 of the drawings, an elastic band 50is secured to the center portion of the strut formed by the adheredstrut forming flanges 39. The elastic member 50 is anchored at its lowerend to the rear wall 15 of the base portion of the display, as indicatedat 51. The elastic member 50 is designed to fold the platform formingpanels 36 into a common plane.

FIG. 5 of the drawings shows the display in slightly unfolded form. Inusual practice, the base portion of the display is collapsed by foldingthe side panels 14 and 16 into flat form between the front panel 13 andrear panel 15. The standard 11 is also flat, and the base portion 10 isfolded to overlie the center portion of the standard which is betweenthe fold lines 45 and 46. The poster 12 is folded down to overlie thebase portion 10, and the display is held in this folded form by gummedtape or by string or twine encircling the display. When the meansbinding the display in its completely folded condition is released, thedisplay starts to unfold as indicated in FIG. 5 of the drawings. This iscaused by the elastic band 50 which tends to fold the platform formingpanels 36 into a common plane, thus swinging the base portion of thedevice upwardly into the position indicated in FIG. 6 of the drawings.The pull of the band 50 swings the elements through the positionindicated in FIG. 6, and the display continues to unfold as indicated bythe arrows 52 in FIG. 6 of the drawings.

When the standard unfolds along the fold lines 45 and 46 until thestandard unfolds into a single plane, the elastic bands 47 and 49 swingthe side panels 43 and 44 of the standard into right angular relation tothe center panel 40 thereof. As a result, the display is completelyassembled into operable form by the three elastic bands 47, 49, and. 50,and it is only necessary to stand the display erect into the positionshown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Because of the somewhat spectacular operation of erecting the displayfrom its flat folded form to its completely assembled form, nodifficulty has been experienced in obtaining the cooperation ofsupermarket personnel in erecting the displays. Either the tape whichholds the display in its folded form is slit, or the cord or other meansholding the display is collapsed form is removed while the display isbeing held in its folded form. Once the binding material has beensevered or removed, the display is merely dropped upon the floor oranother flat surface with the center portion of the standard lowermost.When this is done, the base portion of the display expands into channelshaped form to completely assemble the display with virtually no efforton the part of the operator.

In accordance with the Patent Statutes, I have described the principlesof construction and operation of my improvement in DISPLAY STANDS, andwhile I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof Idesire to have it understood that changes may be made within the scopeof the following claims without departing form the spirit of myinvention.

I claim:

1. A folded display including:

base section including a front wall panel, a rear wall panel, and sidewall members connecting the edges of said front and rear wall panels,

said side wall members each including a pair of foldably connected sidewall panels foldably connected together in face contact between saidfront and rear wall panels,

platform panels hingedly connected to the upper edges of said front andrear panels and extending upwardly therefrom in generally parallelrelation and adapted to fold into substantially coplanar relation,

resilient means connecting said platform panels to one of said front andrear wall panels near the lower end thereof for urging said platformpanels into substantially coplanar relation,

a vertically elongated standard having an upper section, a centersection, and a lower section foldably connected along paralleltransverse fold lines,

said standard being divided along parallel longitudinal fold lines intoan intermediate panel and a pair of side panels,

resilient means under stress on one side only of said intermediate paneland urging said side panels into angular relation with said intermediatepanel when said side panels and intermediate panel are folded intocoplanar relation throughout the upper, center and lower sectionsthereof,

means securing the intermediate panel of said lower section of saidstandard to the rear surface of said rear panel of said base section andadapted to extend upwardly therefrom when said display is unfolded,

said center section of said standard lying outwardly of said front wallpanel of said base section, and said upper section lying outwardly ofsaid rear wall panel of said base section, and

means releasably holding said display folded,

whereby when said releasably holding means is released, the

said front and rear wall panels of said base section will expand apart,automatically folding the sections of said standard into coplanarrelation, whereupon said side panels of said standard may automaticallyswing into angular relation to the intermediate panels thereof.

2. The structure of claim 1 and including strut forming flanges hingedlyconnected to said platform panels and folded into face contacttherebetween, and forming a means of connection with said first namedresilient means.

3. The structure of claim 2 and in which strut forming flanges areadapted to fold into engagement with said side wall members of said basesection when in substantially coplanar relation.

1. A folded display including: base section including a front wallpanel, a rear wall panel, and side wall members connecting the edges ofsaid front and rear wall panels, said side wall members each including apair of foldably connected side wall panels foldably connected togetherin face contact between said front and rear wall panels, platform panelshingedly connected to the upper edges of said front and rear panels andextending upwardly therefrom in generally parallel relation and adaptedto fold into substantially coplanar relation, resilient means connectingsaid platform panels to one of said front and rear wall panels near thelower end thereof for urging said platform panels into substantiallycoplanar relation, a vertically elongated standard having an uppersection, a center section, and a lower section foldably connected alongparallel transverse fold lines, said standard being divided alongparallel longitudinal fold lines into an intermediate panel and a pairof side panels, resilient means under stress on one side only of saidintermediate panel and urging said side panels into angular relationwith said intermediate panel when said side panels and intermediatepanel are folded into coplanar relation throughout the upper, center andlower sections thereof, means securing the intermediate panel of saidlower section of said standard to the rear surface of said rear panel ofsaid base section and adapted to extend upwardly therefrom when saiddisplay is unfolded, said center section of said standard lyingoutwardly of said front wall panel of said base section, and said uppersection lying outwardly of said rear wall panel of said base section,and means releasably holding said display folded, whereby when saidreleasably holding means is released, the said front and rear wallpanels of said base section will expand apart, automatically folding thesections of said standard into coplanar relation, whereupon said sidepanels of said standard may automatically swing into angular relation tothe intermediate panels thereof.
 2. The structure of claim 1 andincluding strut forming flanges hingedly connected to said platformpanels and folded into face contact therebetween, and forming a means ofconnection with said first named resilient means.
 3. The structure ofclaim 2 and in which strut forming flanges are adapted to fold intoengagement with said side wall members of said base section when insubstantially coplanar relation.